Appointment next week

[Jennymary]

I'm off next Wednesday for my first, and possibly only, hospital appt. Apart from asking why wasn't I told in 2014 that I was staring osteoporosis in the face and why wasn't I given a chance to try and reverse it then, and telling whoever I see that I'm not going to take any meds is there anything else I should talk to them about

[Met00]

If you don't already have it, ask for your DEXA scan report, including your t-scores and fracture risk. If you had a DEXA scan in 2014 and haven't had one since, you're also overdue another one. However, be aware that DEXA scanning only gives an estimate of bone density and isn't totally reliable (for example, operator error, particularly with spinal scores, is quite common, and you can't compare results from one DEXA machine with another, which in itself shows how unreliable they can be!). If you've already had a fragility fracture, then that in itself puts you at risk of further fractures, but if you've never fractured, you may have strong bones (but obviously not guaranteed) despite poor t-scores. There's a measure of bone strength, the trabecular bone score (TBS) that a tiny number of DEXA machines use, which gives a better indication of fracture risk, but unfortunately most DEXA machines don't have this. If you're in the UK and can afford it, there's a new technology, REMS ultrasound, which gives t-scores just the same, but is much more reliable and also includes the TBS when calculating your fracture risk. It costs £150 for a 1/2 hour appointment with an orthopaedic consultant, during which time you have the scan (takes a few minutes) and get the results and discussion immediately. It's based in the Midland though (with a few mobile clinics elsewhere), so you may have to travel. See osteoscanuk.com/ for more info. You might also find it helpful to speak to one of the specialist nurses on the ROS freephone helpline prior to your appointment: theros.org.uk